State worker accused of stealing supplies
Woman caught on camera taking toner
Rose Martin, a state
worker in Tallahassee, had set up a little business on the side,
planning to sell toner for computer printers through eBay.com, the
online auction service.
Here’s the problem, Leon County sheriff’s detectives say: She pilfered her product from work.
Martin, 37, is charged with stealing seven boxes of toner worth $929
from the Department of Revenue, an arrest report shows. Toner is what
makes words and images appear on a printed sheet.
Detectives got a call earlier this month from the department’s
inspector general’s office, saying they “had a problem with an employee
stealing toner from them,” the report said.
Last week, detectives installed a hidden camera in a hallway where a
shipment of toner was stored in a locked cabinet. Over the weekend, the
toner disappeared.
The video showed Martin coming into work that Sunday, using a key to
unlock the cabinet, taking the seven toner boxes and putting them in a
plastic bag, according to the report.
This week, detectives talked to Martin, who admitted taking the toner and stashing it in her garage, where it was later found.
Martin also said she planned to sell the toner on eBay but never got the chance, Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Folsom said.
Martin was charged with burglary and grand theft and was released from
the Leon County Jail on $5,000 bail. She did not return a call to her
home Friday.
Dean LeBoeuf, her lawyer, was not in the office Friday, an assistant
said. Court records show he filed a not-guilty plea on her behalf
Thursday.
It wasn’t clear what her position was at the department, how long she
worked there or what her job status was; a DOR spokeswoman could not be
reached Friday afternoon.